Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon. Most everyone has seen the movies or read the books, and even if someone hasn't they usually know what Harry Potter is.

Harry Potter was a great series, but I’m finding that "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" —the newest movie set in the Harry Potter Wizarding World—is smashing every expectation I had for it. In fact, I think "Fantastic Beasts" is on the same level of greatness that Harry Potter is… if not more awesome.

I’ve already seen the movie twice and I’m still not sated. I’ve been desperate to see it a few more times and it's already on my wishlist. The reasons I love this movie make a very long list.

Fantastic Beasts follows the storyline of Newt Scamander and his crazy suitcase full of misunderstood magical creatures. Not only are these creatures absolutely adorable and so well done with the graphics, each specific creature has a personality the audience can't help but fall in love with.

The Niffler, a crazy platypus-like creature, is silly and curious with an absolute love of all things shiny. He's also super mischievous and serves as a comedic relief to some of the darker parts of the movie.

Picket the Bowtruckle is my personal favorite beast. Not only is he truly adorable, but he helps Newt and his friends out of sticky situations. There's a reason he's Newt’s favorite, and it truly shows.

Beyond the creatures, all of the characters have true redeeming qualities, and the actors playing them did a truly beautiful job.

My favorite character, and it seems everyone's favorite character, is the main protagonist Newt Scamander, played by the very talented Eddie Redmayne. Newt has quickly become the light of Tumblr and Twitter worlds, with numerous accounts and pages being made in his honor. It's not hard to see why. With his shy, sweet disposition and social awkwardness, Newt stole the hearts of most who watched the film. Redmayne did a brilliant job of portraying this complex character.

It's even more remarkable when you take into account the fact that Redmayne himself is, while still awkward at times, a social and generally pretty confident person. There is a distinct difference to the person you can see in interviews and the person on the screen in Fantastic Beasts. This is the wonderful thing about acting. Often you can shed your skin and become someone else, if only for a moment.

Redmayne isn't the only actor who managed to create an entirely different person on screen. Ezra Miller, the actor playing the abused young wizard Credence Barebone (pictured on the left beside Percival Graves), is a very loving and warm person who never seems shy or awkward in interviews. Credence, however, is extremely tormented by his past and can be seen as almost helpless. Miller did an excellent job bringing to light the extreme effects of years of abuse and self-hatred without overdoing it.

One thing I didn't like about this movie is the casting of Johnny Depp. While Depp is a brilliant actor, I can never look at him the same way without thinking of the fact that he abused his wife. The fact that he gets the role of Grindelwald, no matter how small the role was in this movie, is appalling, especially considering one of the main characters in this movie is a victim of abuse himself. In fact, so is Harry Potter, though Harry’s abuse was mostly mental and emotional. Not only that, but there are Harry Potter fans who are victims of abuse, and for them to see an abuser playing a significant role in these movies could be potentially triggering and traumatizing.

Despite this little detail, the movie was absolutely fantastic (no pun intended). I already want to see it again and I hope you do too.